Trigger safety for air gun and air gun containing the same

ABSTRACT

A trigger safety for an air gun, including: a safety apparatus disposed on the body of an air gun and movable forward and backward, and a safety latch matching the safety apparatus to achieve activation and deactivation of the trigger safety. The safety apparatus further includes an assist device for assisting the safety apparatus to unlock the locked activation or deactivation state between the safety apparatus and the safety latch. This trigger safety ensures the security of the air gun, reduces the force required for deactivating or activating the trigger safety, and improves the efficiency of targeting and shooting the air gun.

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Pursuant to 35 U.S.C. §119 and the Paris Convention Treaty, this application claims the benefit of Chinese Patent Application No. 201420363123.7 filed Jul. 3, 2014, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Inquiries from the public to applicants or assignees concerning this document or the related applications should be directed to: Matthias Scholl P.C., Attn.: Dr. Matthias Scholl Esq., 245 First Street, 18th Floor, Cambridge, Mass. 02142.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Filed of the Invention

The present invention relates to a trigger safety for an air gun.

2. Description of the Related Art

Air guns are firearms utilizing compressed air as the source of energy. Most of the air guns contain trigger safeties and chamber locks. Traditional trigger safeties are manual safety devices that are activated and reset in a manner costing time and effort. The present trigger safeties are usually composed of a safety apparatus and a latch matching the safety apparatus. Activating or deactivating the trigger safety is achieved by pushing the safety apparatus to a position where a projection on the latch blocks a slot on the safety apparatus. This type of trigger safeties has the following disadvantages: when the safety apparatus is easy to push, safe handling of the air guns cannot be ensured; and when the safety apparatus is hard to push, the action of activating or deactivating the trigger safety costs effort and requires large force, resulting in inconvenience of targeting and shooting of the air gun.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of the above-described problems, it is one objective of the invention to provide a trigger safety for an air gun which is able to be activated or deactivated by a small force in order to improve safety of the air gun as well as convenience of targeting and shooting thereof.

Another objective of the invention is to provide an air gun which contains a trigger safety able to be deactivated automatically by using a compressing handle and able to be reactivated without effort.

In accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the invention, provided is a trigger safety which includes a safety apparatus disposed on the body of a gun and movable forward and backward, a safety latch matching the safety apparatus to achieve activation and deactivation of the trigger safety. The safety apparatus further includes an assist device for assisting the safety apparatus to unlock the locked activation or deactivation state between the safety apparatus and the safety latch.

In a class of this embodiment, the assist device may help manually activating or deactivating the trigger safety. When the assist device is utilized in an air gun which allows automatic deactivation of the trigger safety, the assist device is designed to help activating the trigger safety.

In a class of this embodiment, the safety apparatus includes a safety bolt movable forward or backward, a front slot and a rear slot that are disposed on the safety bolt and that match the safety latch. The assist device includes a pushing rod disposed within the safety bolt and movable forward or backward, a pushing-rod-resetting apparatus, and a projection on the pushing rod. Inside or adjacent to the slots of the safety bolt is an opening allowing the projection to extend therethrough. When the pushing rod is pushed forward, the projection extends through the opening around the slots to push the safety latch to the outside of the slots.

In a class of this embodiment, the safety latch includes a latch bulge and a latch-bulge-resetting spring. The pushing-rod-resetting apparatus is the resetting spring. The rear end of the pushing rod extends from the rear end of the safety bolt, and the front end of the pushing rod is connected to the resetting spring.

The key point of the invention is to use the projection on the pushing rod and a guide groove to allow the safety latch to be pushed by a small force. Specifically, the energy source for pushing the safety structure is not limited to spring.

Another objective of the invention is to provide an air gun which includes a body of the gun, a gas-compressing device disposed on the body of the gun, a loading energy storage device, a trigger, and a trigger safety. The trigger safety includes a safety apparatus disposed on the body of the gun and movable forward or backward and a safety latch matching the safety apparatus to achieve activation and deactivation of the trigger safety. The safety apparatus further includes an assist device for assisting the safety apparatus to unlock its deactivation state with the safety latch so as to activate the trigger safety.

The safety latch includes a latch bulge and a latch-bulge-resetting spring, and the safety apparatus includes a safety bolt movable forward and backward and a front slot and a rear slot that are disposed on the safety bolt and that match the latch bulge. The safety bolt is connected to the trigger via a linkage piece. The assist device includes a pushing rod disposed within the safety bolt and movable forward or backward, a pushing-rod-resetting apparatus, and a projection on the pushing rod. Inside or adjacent to the slots of the safety bolt is an opening allowing the projection to extend therethrough. When the pushing rod is pushed forward, the projection extends through the opening around the slots to push the latch bulge to the outside of the slots.

The latch bulge is arranged beneath the safety bolt. A guide column is disposed slantwise inside the safety bolt, and a constraining guide groove is disposed on the central portion of the pushing rod corresponding to the guide column The combination of the constraining guide groove and the guide column allows the pushing rod to be movably connected to the safety bolt. The rear sidewall of the projection on the pushing rod and the lower surface of the opening are tapered guide edges matching each other.

To achieve automatic deactivation of the trigger safety, the gas-compressing device includes a cylinder disposed inside the body of the gun, a piston back-and-forth movable inside the cylinder, a connecting rod connected to the piston, and a compressing handle hinged to the body of the gun and able to drive the connecting rod to move. The rear end of the compressing handle includes a wedge-shaped pressing part for pushing the safety bolt backward to deactivate the trigger safety and a depression for accommodating the front end of the safety bolt. The front end of the safety bolt is in a wedge shape having two tapered edges corresponding to the shape of the depression.

In the invention, an assist device disposed on the trigger safety is designed for assisting the trigger safety to unlock the activation or deactivation state between the trigger safety and the safety latch so as to deactivate or activate the trigger safety. This invention ensures the security of the air gun, reduces the force required for deactivating or activating the trigger safety, and improves the efficiency of targeting and shooting of the air gun. The assist device described in the present invention includes a pushing rod disposed within the safety bolt and movable therealong, a pushing-rod-resetting apparatus, and a projection on the pushing rod. When manually deactivating or activating the trigger safety, the pushing rod can be pushed first so that the projection thereon pushes the safety latch to the outside of the slots on the safety bolt, and then the safety bolt is pushed to achieve activation or deactivation of the trigger safety by a dramatically reduced force. As such, this invention solves the problems of traditional trigger safeties that activation and deactivation thereof cost so much effort that the security and the targeting efficiency of the air gun are affected.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a safety bolt containing an assist device according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the safety bolt of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of an air gun according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 4 is a partial schematic diagram of an air gun in which a trigger safety is activated according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 5 is a partial schematic diagram of an air gun having a compressing handle in open state and a trigger safety in deactivation state according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 6 is a partial schematic diagram of an air gun having a trigger safety in activation state when a compressing handle is compressing gas according to one embodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 7 is a partial schematic diagram of the air gun of FIG. 6 in which the compressing handle is closed and the assist device is assisting the trigger safety to achieve activation.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

As shown in FIGS. 1-6, a trigger safety described in this present invention includes a safety apparatus 1 disposed on the body of a gun and movable forward and backward and a safety latch 2 matching the safety apparatus 1 in order to achieve activation and deactivation of the trigger safety. The safety apparatus 1 further includes an assist device for assisting the safety apparatus 1 to unlock its activation or deactivation state with the safety latch 2 so as to allow deactivating or activating the trigger safety. When using the trigger safety described in this present invention on an air gun, the assist device pushes the safety latch 2 until the activation or deactivation state between the safety apparatus 1 and the safety latch 2 is unlocked. Then, the safety apparatus 1 is pushed to activate or deactivate the trigger safety. As such, the force needed for pushing the safety apparatus 1 is dramatically reduced, which provides a trigger safety that can be manipulated easily without much effort so as to improve the efficiency of targeting and shooting of the air gun. The assist device described in this invention may help manually activating or deactivating the trigger safety. When the assist device is utilized in an air gun that allows automatic deactivation of the trigger safety, the assist device is designed to help activating the trigger safety. In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, the safety apparatus 1 includes a safety bolt 11 movable forward and backward and a front slot 12 and a rear slot 12′ that are disposed on the safety bolt 11 and that match the safety latch 2. The assist device includes a pushing rod 3 disposed within the safety bolt 11 and movable forward or backward, a pushing-rod-resetting apparatus 4, and a projection 31 on the pushing rod 3. Inside or adjacent to the slots 12 and 12′ of the safety bolt 11 is an opening 13 allowing the projection 31 to extend therethrough to the outside. When the pushing rod 3 is pushed forward or backward, the projection 31 extends through the opening 13 around the slots 12 and 12′ to push the safety latch 2 so that the safety latch 2 is extracted to the outside of the slots 12 and 12′. The safety latch 2 includes a latch bulge 21 and a latch-bulge-resetting spring 22. The pushing-rod-resetting apparatus 4 is the resetting spring. The rear end of the pushing rod 3 extends from the rear end of the safety bolt 11, and the front end of the pushing rod 3 is connected to the resetting spring. The safety bolt 11 is in a wedge shape having two tapered edges. The safety latch 2 is arranged beneath the safety bolt 11. The rear sidewall of the projection 31 on the pushing rod 3 and the lower surface of the opening 13 are tapered guide edges matching each other. A guide column 5 is disposed slantwise inside the safety bolt 11, and a constraining guide groove 32 is disposed on the central portion of the pushing rod 3 corresponding to the guide column 5. The combination of the constraining guide groove 32 and the guide column 5 allows the pushing rod 3 to be connected to the safety bolt 11 and to be movable forward or backward.

The invention further relates to an air gun which includes a body 6 of the gun, a gas-compressing device disposed on the body 6 of the gun, a loading energy storage device, a trigger, and a trigger safety. In order to activate the trigger safety without costing much effort after the deactivation of the trigger safety, the trigger safety includes a safety apparatus 1 disposed on the body of the gun and movable forward and backward and a safety latch 2 matching the safety apparatus 1 to achieve activation and deactivation of the trigger safety. The safety apparatus 1 further includes an assist device for assisting the safety apparatus 1 to unlock its deactivation state with the safety latch 2 so as to activate the trigger safety. The safety latch 2 includes a latch bulge 21 and a latch-bulge-resetting spring 22, and the safety apparatus 1 includes a safety bolt 11 movable forward and backward and a front slot 12 and a rear slot 12′ that are disposed on the safety bolt 11 and that match the latch bulge 21. The safety bolt 11 is connected to the trigger via a linkage piece 7. The assist device includes a pushing rod 3 disposed within the safety bolt 11 and movable forward or backward, a pushing-rod-resetting apparatus 4, and a projection 31 on the pushing rod 3. Inside or adjacent to the slots 12 of the safety bolt 11 is an opening 13 allowing the projection 31 to extend therethrough. When the pushing rod 3 is pushed forward or backward, the projection 31 extends through the opening 13 around the slots 12 and 12′ to push the latch bulge 21 to the outside of the slots 12 and 12′. The safety latch 2 is arranged beneath the safety bolt 11. A guide column 5 is disposed slantwise inside the safety bolt 11, and a constraining guide groove 32 is disposed on the central portion of the pushing rod 3 corresponding to the guide column 5. The combination of the constraining guide groove 32 and the guide column 5 allows the pushing rod 3 to be connected to the safety bolt 11 and to be movable forward or backward. The rear sidewall of the projection 31 on the pushing rod 3 and the lower surface of the opening 13 are tapered guide edges matching each other. To achieve automatic deactivation of the trigger safety, the gas-compressing device includes a cylinder disposed inside the body of the gun, a piston back-and-forth movable inside the cylinder, a connecting rod connected to the piston, and a compressing handle 8 hinged to the body of the gun and able to drive the connecting rod to move. The rear end of the compressing handle 8 includes a wedge-shaped pressing part 81 for pushing the safety bolt 11 backward to automatically deactivate the trigger safety and a depression 82 for accommodating the front end of the safety bolt 11. The front end of the safety bolt 11 is in a wedge shape having two tapered edges corresponding to the shape of the depression 82. As such, when the compressing handle 8 is opened or closed, the wedge-shaped pressing part 81 presses the safety bolt 11 so as to deactivate the trigger safety. In other words, when the compressing handle 8 is opened to compress gas, it impacts the safety bolt 11 via the contact of the tapered edges, which leads to automatic deactivation of the trigger safety. Specifically, the impact between the compressing handle 8 and the safety bolt 11 can be carried out by structures other than tapered edges and guide grooves.

The invention is described below in more details with references to the drawings.

As shown in FIG. 4, the air gun is in a beginning state that the trigger safety is activated. In this state, the safety latch 2 is fit in the rear slot 12′ on the lower surface of the safety bolt 11 so that the activation state of the trigger safety is locked. When the air gun is to be shot, as shown in FIG. 5, the compressing handle 8 is first opened for compressing gas. When the compressing handle 8 is opened, the wedge-shaped pressing part 81 on the rear end of the compressing handle 8 presses the front end of the safety bolt 11 so that the safety bolt 11 moves backward to deactivate the trigger safety and the safety latch 2 is fit in the front slot 12 to lock the deactivation state of the trigger safety. In other words, when the compressing handle 8 is opened to compress gas, it impacts the safety bolt 11 via the contact of the tapered edge and exerts force on the upper and lower tapered edges of the safety bolt 11 to push the safety bolt 11 backward to automatically deactivate the trigger safety. Specifically, the impact between the compressing handle 8 and the safety bolt 11 can be carried out by structures other than a tapered edge or guide groove. When the compressing handle 8 compresses gas, in order to avoid accidental discharge of the air gun caused by unintentional pressure against the trigger 9, as shown in FIG. 6, the safety apparatus 1 can be manually pushed forward to activate the trigger safety. When manually activating the trigger safety, the pushing rod 3 can be pushed first so that the projection 31 thereon pushes the safety latch 2 to the outside of the rear slot 12′ and the deactivation state of the trigger safety is unlocked, and then the safety bolt 11 is pushed to achieve activation of the trigger safety by a dramatically reduced force. After the gas is compressed and the compressing handle 8 is closed, the wedge-shaped pressing part 81 on the rear end of the compressing handle 8 pushes the safety apparatus 1 to move backward to deactivate the trigger safety. After shooting, the safety apparatus 1 can be manually pushed forward in the previously described manner to activate the trigger safety. FIG. 7 shows the activation of the trigger safety by closing the compressing handle 8 and using the assist device.

While particular embodiments of the invention have been shown and described, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that changes and modifications may be made without departing from the invention in its broader aspects, and therefore, the aim in the appended claims is to cover all such changes and modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention. 

The invention claimed is:
 1. A trigger safety for an air gun, comprising: a safety apparatus disposed on a body of an air gun and adapted to move forward and backward along the body of the air gun; and a safety latch matching the safety apparatus to achieve activation and deactivation of the trigger safety; wherein the safety apparatus further comprises an assist device for assisting the safety apparatus to unlock activation or deactivation state between the safety apparatus and the safety latch.
 2. The trigger safety of claim 1, wherein: the safety apparatus further comprises a safety bolt adapted to move forward or backward and a front slot and a rear slot that are disposed on the safety bolt and that match the safety latch; the assist device further comprises a pushing rod disposed within the safety bolt and adapted to move forward or backward, a pushing-rod-resetting apparatus, and a projection on the pushing rod, an opening disposed inside or adjacent to the front slot and the rear slot and allowing the projection to extend through the opening; and when the pushing rod is pushed forward, the projection extends through the opening around the slots to push the safety latch to an outside of the front slot or the rear slot.
 3. The trigger safety of claim 2, wherein: the safety latch further comprises a latch bulge and a latch-bulge-resetting spring; the pushing-rod-resetting apparatus is a resetting spring; and a rear end of the pushing rod extends from the rear end of the safety bolt, and a front end of the pushing rod is connected to the resetting spring.
 4. The trigger safety of claim 2, wherein a front end of the safety bolt is in a wedge shape comprising two tapered edges.
 5. The trigger safety of claim 2, wherein the safety latch is arranged beneath the safety bolt; and a rear sidewall of the projection on the pushing rod and a lower surface of the opening are tapered guide edges matching each other.
 6. The trigger safety of claim 2, wherein a guide column is disposed slantwise inside the safety bolt, a constraining guide groove is disposed on a central portion of the pushing rod corresponding to the guide column, and the constraining guide groove and the guide column are adapted to allow the pushing rod to be movably connected to the safety bolt.
 7. An air gun, comprising: a gun body; a gas-compressing device disposed on the gun body; a loading energy storage device; a trigger; and a trigger safety, the trigger safety comprising a safety apparatus disposed on the gun body and adapted to move forward and backward along the gun body and a safety latch matching the safety apparatus to achieve activation and deactivation of the trigger safety, and the safety apparatus further comprising an assist device for assisting the safety apparatus to unlock activation or deactivation state between the safety apparatus and the safety latch.
 8. The air gun of claim 7, wherein: the safety latch comprises a latch bulge and a latch-bulge-resetting spring; the safety apparatus comprises a safety bolt adapted to move forward and backward and a front slot and a rear slot that are disposed on the safety bolt and that match the latch bulge; the safety bolt is connected to the trigger via a linkage piece; the assist device comprises a pushing rod disposed within the safety bolt and adapted to move forward or backward, a pushing-rod-resetting apparatus, and a projection on the pushing rod; an opening is disposed inside or adjacent to the front slot and the rear slot and allowing the projection to extend through the opening; and when the pushing rod is pushed forward, the projection extends through the opening around the slots to push the safety latch to the outside of the front slot or the rear slot.
 9. The air gun of claim 8, wherein: the safety latch is arranged beneath the safety bolt; a guide column is disposed slantwise inside the safety bolt; a constraining guide groove is disposed on a central portion of the pushing rod corresponding to the guide column; the constraining guide groove and the guide column are adapted to allow the pushing rod to be movably connected to the safety bolt; and a rear sidewall of the projection on the pushing rod and a lower surface of the opening are tapered guide edges matching each other.
 10. The air gun of claim 8, wherein: the gas-compressing device comprises a cylinder disposed inside the gun body, a piston back-and-forth movable inside the cylinder, a connecting rod connected to the piston, and a compressing handle hinged to the gun body and adapted to drive the connecting rod to move; a rear end of the compressing handle comprises a wedge-shaped pressing part for pushing the safety bolt backward to deactivate the trigger safety and a depression for accommodating the front end of the safety bolt; and a front end of the safety bolt is in a wedge shape having two tapered edges corresponding to a shape of the depression. 